PH economy grows 6.4% in Q1

MANILA The Philippine economy grew at its slowest pace in more than a year in the first quarter on weaker government spending, but strong exports and domestic consumption suggest the Southeast Asian country remains poised to raise rates this year.

"The changing of the guard of the government and the reorientation of programs really take time to settle and this slowed government spending for the quarter", Socio-Economic Panning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

"Our first quarter performance bodes well for the economy as it is broadly in line with this year's government target of 6.5-7.5 percent".

Compared with other major emerging economies in Asia, Pernia said the Philippines remains one of the "strongest performers". "We are somewhat downcast because we were expecting something around the mid-growth range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent".

Pernia said the slowdown could be explained by the absence of election spending, which boosted growth a year earlier. India has yet to release its data.

The services sector had the highest contribution to the growth of the country's growth domestic product in the first quarter with 3.8 percentage points, followed by the industry sector with 2.1 percentage points while the agriculture sector contributed 0.5 percentage point.

Also, it is second only to China - which increased 6.9 percent in the January to March period. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the economy grew a seasonally adjusted 1.1%.

"To sustain the growth momentum of exports, it is important to ease government regulation, strengthen market intelligence gathering with the help of the private sector, and maximize trade agreements and economic groupings, especially with our ASEAN neighbors", he said.

"This was better than during the previous administration where government consumption, spending and public construction contracted by about 15 percent and 37 percent, respectively", Pernia said.

Share

Related Articles

The Syrian agency produces non-conventional weapons such as the chemical weapons that Assad's forces used earlier this year. But the USA will also impose new economic penalties related to the country's missile work.

But Mr Francois Baroin, who is running the Republicans parliamentary campaign, said his party won't cut any deals with Mr Macron. Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled his Cabinet with women filling half of the 22 positions.

Warriors Game 2 will air on ESPN, which means it will be available to live stream online on flagship streaming app - WatchESPN. Draymond Green gave Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trailed by as many as 25 points.

The malware, known as "WannaCry", paralysed computers running factories, banks, government agencies and transport systems. Instead, organizations such as the NSA should disclose computer vulnerabilities to their manufacturers, Microsoft argues.

Mr Farron's said that Theresa May offers a "cold, mean-spirited" Britain his visision of an "open, tolerant and united" nation. Elsewhere, Tim Farron's party promised to ban the sale of diesel cars and small vans in the United Kingdom by 2025.

If there was any doubt as to who is the biggest Mexican boxing star before May 6, Canelo Alvarez shattered any remaining doubt. The 31-year-old, however, is coming off back-to-back unanimous-decision victories over Marcos Reyes and Dominic Britsch.

Chase Strangio, one of Manning's attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, called her "a fierce advocate for justice". Transgender celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox have become part of the mainstream.

Amazon will give you a $100 discount if you buy more than one to make that easier as well (use the code SHOW2PACK at checkout). This means that existing Echo and Echo Dot owners will be able to call and message other Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show owners.

Philippe is also relatively unknown to voters, fulfilling Macron's campaign promises to repopulate French politics with new faces. Among the non-politicians to be offered roles is well-known environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, a source in the presidency said.

They called on the administration "to provide records of interactions with former Director Comey, including any audio recordings". The letter came after the Senate Intelligence Committee made a similar request for Comey's memos.

As the physical play between the two exponentially increased in the second and third periods, it pushed Johansen over the edge. Sami Vatanen , Jacob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase each had a goal for the Ducks, who wiped out a two-goal deficit to prevail.

The virus targeted computers using Windows XP, as well as Windows 7 and 8, all of which Microsoft stopped servicing years ago. On affected computers, the WannaCry software encrypts files and displays a ransom message demanding $300 in bitcoin .

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM)
Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a report on Saturday, March 18th. In recent trading day Halliburton Company (HAL ) stock showed the move of 0.58% with the closing price of $46.78.

India will do everything to save Jadhav: Sushma Swaraj
Islamabad has rejected 16 Indian requests for consular access to Jadhav, who is being held at an unknown prison in Pakistan. On its part, Pakistan told ICJ that the provisions of Vienna Convention on consular access were not applicable for a "spy".

Watch the official Destiny 2 gameplay reveal here
Check back with Attack of the Fanboy for exclusive impressions on the game, gameplay, and other details from the reveal. What can I expect from Destiny 2? Bungie officially confirmed Destiny 2 at the end of March.

Hamilton celebrates hard-fought Spanish GP win over Vettel
Hamilton was second but there was chaos behind as Bottas bumped into Kimi Raikkonen, who, in turn, ran into Max Verstappen. British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel finished in the second spot in Barcelona.

Jury to hear closing arguments in Oklahoma officer's trial
An autopsy showed PCP was in Crutcher's system and police said they found evidence of it in his vehicle, according to the AP. Shelby testified Monday that she feared for her life and thought Crutcher was reaching inside his stalled SUV for a gun.

Tehran Mayor drops out of Iranian presidential race
He was deputy head of the judiciary for 10 years before being appointed in 2014 as Iran's prosecutor-general. The deal saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions.

Intel sharing at heart of US, Europe talks on laptop ban
An industry-backed group, the Airline Passenger Experience Association, said the USA government should consider alternatives. ACI Europe said that 59 European airports now have direct services to the USA with a total of 3,684 weekly flights.

Israel fuming at US's concern over embassy move to Jerusalem
Netanyahu's office concluded: "This is the clear and consistent position of Prime Minister Netanyahu , which he reiterated today". He has already hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House.